Put river on list of navigable waters: citizen’s group

By Emily Innes, Collingwood Enterprise-Bulletin March 7, 2013 

A citizen’s group says the government’s new Navigation Protection Act muddies the waters for navigation on the Nottawasaga River.

AWARE Simcoe, a group that advocates on environmental and municipal issues in Simcoe County, posted a petition online last week requesting Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Denis Lebel, the minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, add the river, which runs through Dufferin, Grey and Simcoe counties into Lake Huron, to the waters listed under the Navigation Protection Act.

“The Nottawasaga River has been a route of major importance historically,” said Aware Simcoe member Anne Learn Sharpe. “It is a river that really played a huge part of the creation of the country.”

The right to travel on the river has been protected since 1882 under the Navigable Waters Protection Act, until the government replaced the legislation with the Navigation Protection Act in December, 2012.

“For years, provincial, territorial and municipal governments have asked us to make it easier for communities to build important infrastructure like roads, bridges and wharves that create jobs,” said Minister Lebel in a Dec. 18 press release. “The new Navigation Protection Act will cut through the red tape that slows down bridge work and respect navigation rights to keep Canadians moving.”

The Navigable Waters Protection Act included all of Canada’s waters — three oceans, 40,000 lakes, and 2.5 million rivers — whereas the new legislation only protects the oceans, 97 lakes, and 63 rivers.

Learn Sharpe researched the Nottawasaga River’s background to highlight its significant roles and uses.

She said the river was a trade route for the Ouendat and Algonquin nations, then as a corridor for the fur trade and the lumber industry that shaped Canada. The Nottawasaga River was also the setting for events during the War of 1812, notably the sinking of the HMS Nancy.

The river is currently used for fishing as it is known as habitat for migratory salmon and trout, as well as smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike and channel catfish.

Representatives of AWARE Simcoe say they are concerned there is no legislation preventing someone — through negligence — obstructing the river, or a company building a structure such as a dam, a pipeline, or a bridge for economic reasons.

“We no longer have automatic protection, so we can’t say, ‘you’ve broken this law’,” said Kate Harries, the vice-chair of AWARE Simcoe, and the person who spearheaded the petition.

“It was simple,” she said. “The Supreme Court had to define what navigable was in context of that legislation and they said ‘anywhere you can float a canoe’ and therefore if someone gets in the way of people doing that than it has to be addressed and they are going to face charges under this legislation.

“(Now) It will be much harder, because it is not going to be that clear without legislative protection.”

The Navigation Protection Act states the waters will still be protected under The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Species at Risk Act, and the Fisheries Act.

However, AWARE Simcoe members say it fears these acts will not protect navigation on the river and one would have to rely on the court system to attempt to challenge any structures blocking passageways on the river.

More than 200 people had signed the petition by Thursday, less than a week after it was started.

Harries said they intend to take the petition to local councils and the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority for support before bringing it forward to Harper and Lebel.

Harries says she has fond memories canoeing on the river with her children when they were younger.

“It’s quite magical being in the huge wetland and coming down the river,” she said.

Learn Sharpe said they have received a lot of positive feedback from supporters from across the country.

“Our kayaking group routinely paddles the northern length of the Nottawasaga from Minesing Wetlands to Wasaga Beach,” stated Paul Douglas of Collingwood in a petition comment. “This is a beautiful stretch of river and preserving it as a navigable waterway is an important part of the recreational life of our area and of the economic benefits from that activity.”

Jason Addison from Milton stated he learned how to fly fish on the Nottawasaga River.

“(I) wish to see it continue to serve nature lovers and anglers in its current state; do not mess with Mother Nature,” he commented.

“One of the ideas of starting the petition was to raise people’s awareness. You tend to take for granted the landscape that you grew up with, but it is threatened,” said Learn Sharpe. “It doesn’t have the same protection that it did, and neither do thousands of rivers and waterways across Canada.

“Really there should be petitions sprouting up across the country to protect… local rivers.”

The Protect the Nottawasaga River in the Navigation Protection Act Petition can be signed online.